Could Ripple Grow Bigger Than Bitcoin?

When it comes to the term “cryptocurrency.” most of us will probably immediately think of Bitcoin. But the truth of the matter is that there are hundreds upon hundreds of coins out there at our disposal. One of these is XRP, a digital coin utilized within a network called Ripple. This particular network has been known to be used by banks and financial institutions alike, not just on trading platforms like their other crypto counterparts. And so one question on everyone’s minds is: Could Ripple grow to be bigger than Bitcoin? We’re exploring that below.

An Introduction To Ripple

Ripple is a network designed to make overseas transactions much faster and much more secure and efficient. This real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) is also a crypto exchange and remittance network in and of itself and supports the use of tokens as a representation of fiat currencies, other cryptocurrencies or even other commodities like mobile credit and air miles. This is conducted on a shared, public ledger database that not only ensures the security of transactions but speed and efficiency too. For this reason, leading banks from across the globe, including Santander and UBS, are starting to pick up this technology and introduce it into projects and developments within their services.

For this reason, Ripple doesn’t necessarily fit into the “cryptocurrency” umbrella quite as neatly as the likes of Bitcoin. The ledger utilizes the same technology and does have its own coins and tokens as part of the network, but whether the value will ever rise above Bitcoin could be down to a matter of popularity beyond just these institutions and into smaller businesses too.

The $7 Goal

With the above in mind, it’s easy to see how Ripple has earned its stripes as a leading cryptocurrency, but could it truly ever grow bigger than Bitcoin? Well, experts suggest that this could very much be possible with just a small rise in the overall prices of Ripple.

In fact, XRP would only need to rise to around $7 per coin in order to steal Bitcoin’s leading crown. Given that a single bitcoin is worth upwards of $7,000 at time of writing, you’d be forgiven for wondering just how this is possible. Well, the answer is in market capitalization. Ripple is currently worth just $0.410746 which is certainly a world away from Bitcoin, but its total market cap is an impressive $16,142,261,452. Bitcoin’s is certainly higher at $121,393,013,639, but a simple rise in Ripple’s price could mean that it’s 39,299,874,590 coins would quickly drive up the market cap and put it high above Bitcoin. Is this likely? Volatility makes it difficult to tell, but the potential is always there in cryptocurrency.

The Bank Input

While banks are adopting Ripple’s technology, much of the network they are utilizing doesn’t actually need XRP in order to function. For this reason, while Ripple, as a cryptocurrency, is often advertised alongside the banks apparently utilizing the coins, this isn’t always true. For this reason, it could be down to smaller, innovative companies picking up these technologies in order to bring about the vital market cap rise that ripple would so desperately need in order to exceed expectations.

Whether Ripple stands a chance at towering over Bitcoin could be a matter of watching the markets in the near future. As knowledge and interest grow in cryptocurrencies, the safe and arguably more stable nature of Ripple could lead more and more businesses to try and utilize its technology in the future and invest in its coins.